Countries Visited

Start City

Tokyo

End City

Tokyo

Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family. Tokyo is located in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshun and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo.

Activities

Description : Akasaka Palace is a former imperial residence that functions today as the “State Guesthouse.” The palace is designated by the government of Japan as official accommodation for visiting state dignitaries. Located in the Moto, Akasaka area of Tokyo, the building took on its present function in 1974, having previously been an imperial detached palace. In 2009 the palace was designated a National Treasure of Japan. The main building is the only Neo-Baroque style Western building in Japan and one of biggest buildings constructed during the Meiji period.

Description : Akihabara is a major shopping area for electronic, computer, anime, and otaku goods, including new and used items. New items are mostly to be found on the main street, Chūōdōri, with many kinds of used items found in the back streets of Soto Kanda 3-chōme. Tools, electrical parts, wires, micro-sized cameras and similar items are found in the cramped passageways of Soto Kanda 1-chōme (near the station). Foreign tourists tend to visit the big name shops like Laox or other specialty shops near the station, though there is more variety and lower prices at locales a little further away. Akihabara gained some fame through being home to one of the first stores devoted to personal robots and robotics.

Description : Asakusa Temple, better known as Sensōji, is an ancient Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. According to legend, a statue of the Kannon was found in the Sumida River in 628 by two fishermen, the Hinokuma brothers. The chief of their village, Hajino Nakamoto, recognized the sanctity of the statue and enshrined it by remodeling his own house into a small temple in Asakusa, so that the villagers could worship the Kannon.

Description : Ginza is an upscale area of Tokyo with numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses, and is recognized as one of the most luxurious shopping districts in the world. Many upscale fashion clothing flagship stores are located here, and has the highest concentration of western shops in Tokyo. Prominent are Chanel, Dior, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton. Flagship electronic retail stores like the Sony showroom and the Apple Store are also here.

Description : The East Garden is where most of the administrative buildings for the palace are located and encompasses the former Honmaru and Ninomaru areas of Edo Castle, a total of 210,000 m2 (2,300,000 sq ft). Located on the grounds of the East Garden is the Imperial Tokagakudo Music Hall, the Music Department of the Board of Ceremonies of the Imperial Household, the Archives and Mausolea Department Imperial Household Agency, structures for the guards such as the Saineikan dojo, and the Museum of the Imperial Collections.

Description : Tokyo Imperial Palace is the main residence of
the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area
located in the Chiyoda area of Tokyo close to
Tokyo Station and contains several buildings
including the main palace, the private residences
of the imperial family, an archive, museum and
administrative offices. It is built on the site of
the old Edo castle. The total area including the
gardens is 7.41 sq km (2.86 sq mi). During the
height of the 1980s Japanese property bubble,
the palace grounds were valued by some as more
than the value of all the real estate in the state of
California.

Description : Kappabashi, or Kitchen Town, is a street in Tokyo between Ueno and Asakusa which is almost entirely populated with shops supplying the restaurant trade. These shops sell everything from mass-produced crockery, restaurant furniture, ovens and decorations, through to esoteric items such as the plastic display food found outside Japanese restaurants. The street's name is believed to come from either the kappa (raincoats) of nearby residents which were hang out to dry on the bridge, or from a merchant named Kihachi Kappaya who funded the project to build Shinhorikawa River for water management. However, due to the homophone with the popular mythical creature, Kappa, the group of shops along the street officially adopted kappa as its mascot.

Description : Meiji Shrine, located in Shibuya, Tokyo, is the Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. After the emperor's death in 1912, the Japanese Diet passed a resolution to commemorate his role in the Meiji Restoration. An iris garden in an area of Tokyo where Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken had been known to visit was chosen as the building's location.

Description : Nakamise Street, or Nakamise-dōri, leads up to Asakusa Kannon Temple. It is said to have come about in the early 18th century, when neighbors were granted permission to set up shops on the approach to the temple. It has a long and torrid history of being destroyed and built back up again thanks to government orders, earthquakes, and World War II. Today, the length of the street is approximately 250 meters and contains around 89 shops.

Description : The Sumida River branches from the Arakawa River at Iwabuchi and flows into Tokyo Bay. Its tributaries include the Kanda and Shakujii rivers. Sumida River was once the path of the Ara-kawa, but towards the end of the Meiji era, the main flow of the Ara-kawa was diverted to prevent flooding. The cruise ship provides a perfect vantage point to appreciate the harmonious blend of old and new Tokyo.

Description : At Tasaki Pearl Gallery, guests will be given the opportunity to view the process of pearl cultivation. There is also the option to participate in a contest, the winner of which will receive a cultured pearl.

Description : Tokyo Tower is a communications and observation tower located in Shiba Park, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. At 332.5 m (1,091 ft) in height, it is the second tallest artificial structure in Japan. The structure is an Eiffel Tower-inspired lattice tower that is painted white and international orange to comply with air
safety regulations. Built in 1958, the tower's main sources of revenue are tourism and antenna leasing. Over 150 million people have visited the tower since its opening. FootTown, a 4-story building located directly under the tower, houses museums, restaurants and shops. Departing from here, guests
can visit two observation decks. The 2-story Main Observatory is located at 150 m (490 ft), while the smaller Special Observatory reaches a height of 250m (820 ft).

Description : Ueno has a popular shopping district with many shops selling reasonably-priced goods. Some of its most notable parts are Ameyoko and Takeya. Ameyoko is a packed shopping bazaar full of stalls selling almost anything you can imagine. If you are looking for a more typically "Asian" market street in Tokyo, with bargaining expected and friendly vendors trying to out-shout each other, this is it. Takeya is a discount store, the oldest in the Tokyo city. It sells an abundant numbers of goods at a reasonable price, from foods to watches to medicine.